Our perspective at VantagePoint

A lesson from Denny's on proofing before printing

Mashable, a blog focused exclusively on Web 2.0 and Social Media news, recently posted a story about Denny’s mistakenly printing the wrong Twitter account name on their dine-in menus. Instead of printing one of the two actual accounts that they have, they printed @Dennys, which currently belongs to an individual in Taiwan. And it doesn’t look like Denny’s plans to reprint the menu anytime soon.

However, even with the menu oversight, Denny’s still has a strong following on Twitter. The @DennysAllNightr account has over 7,700 followers and @DennysGrandSlam has over 4,400 followers. That’s not bad for misprinting your account name on all of the menus. So how are people finding Denny’s on Twitter? Well, Denny’s website links to the correct account, and word of mouth has helped spread the message.

How is Denny’s doing in other social media avenues? On Facebook, Denny’s has over 33,000 fans. Additionally, it has been said that it has more combined followers on Twitter than any of its competitors. Even though the menu mistake hasn’t resulted in major consequences for Denny’s, it is a good lesson on the importance of proofing.

When proofing, it’s always important to have someone review the document that is a skilled editor. Additionally, it helps if that person is seeing the project for the first time. They can give you feedback and edits that you may not catch. Also, be sure that you are consistent with your writing and you follow the same style, such as AP or Chicago. Finally, as simple as it sounds, it is important to check website links, phone numbers, and social media accounts for accuracy. Following these few tips can help save you time, money, and heartache.